Tytler claims Akali Dal behind shoe hurling incident

With Congress adopting a “wait and watch” approach on the issue of Jagdish Tytler’s candidature, the controversial leader on Wednesday blamed the Akali Dal for the shoe hurling incident, even as he put forward an unfazed exterior and continued his campaign trail in Delhi.

Candidate from Northeast Delhi, Tytler’s role in 1984 anti-Sikh riots once again came to the fore with a Sikh scribe lobbing a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday protesting CBI’s clean chit to the Congress nominee.

However, Tytler indicated that the incident was instigated by Akalis and described the reports of his candidature being reviewed by the party as “sheer nonsense”.

“This is sheer nonsense,” he said, reacting to the controversy that his name might be reconsidered.

Tytler claimed that the Sikh families in his constituency have pledged their support to “bring Manmohan Singh back (as prime minister)” and said “they told me that the whole move is motivated by Akali Dal”.

Meanwhile, Congress appeared reluctant to take a clear stand on the issue, with party spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan saying, “When the time comes to make a clear statement, that will be made. At this point of time I would like to confine myself to saying let’s wait and see what happens.”